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Defence Research and Development Canada, Centre for Security Science, Ottawa ON (CAN);Dalhousie Univ, Halifax NS (CAN)

Abstract

We use the Hood, Rothstein and Baldwin (2001) Risk Regulation Regime framework to analyze safety and security in subsectors of Canada’s transportation (airports, seaports, rail, bridges and trucking) and food supply (grocer and commodities). The small sample size of interview subjects in any one sector would preclude the use of any rigorous statistical analysis to support generalizations of the findings. We summarize observations from over 60 semi-structured interviews conducted between 2011 and 2013 with regulators, managers and owners and operators of critical infrastructure to determine the effectiveness of the control mechanisms at work in each of the subsectors; we focus on standards and behaviour, in particular. While each of the subsectors has unique concerns, coordination with key stakeholders, technical complexity, image, risk exposure, security costs and the consequences of single points of failure, for example, were common concerns. The report supports the research project in three important ways. First, decision-makers require an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing control system to determine how with limited resources one might maximize the impact of change initiatives aimed at strengthening the regime. Secondly, the research can inform the development of plausible risk scenarios that test the decision-making methods that we are developing. Thirdly, we draw on the academic literature to suggest improvements to the decision-making proce